Harry Potter Rewritten
by thatguykonrad98
Summary: The story of Harry Potter retold, minor changes, major changes, basically my own rendition of Harry's story. Not to be taken as anything serious or devoted, I just liked the idea of swapping some things, changing some characters and overall having fun with the story and the possibilities it gives for people to mess around with.
1. Chapter 1: The Birthday Boy

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I make no money from this. It's purely just a bit of fun and all rights belong to JK Rowling.**

 **This may become a series, I may leave this as a standalone, it all really depends on whether it keeps me interested. Who knows, if I (and you) enjoy it I may even end up branching out past the Deathly Hallows and creating brand new content.**

 **It's pretty much the same start with Harry being abused at the Dursley's but there will also be changes from the get-go as you'll find out. Much like how Rowling wrote I suppose, I haven't planned everything out, I have ideas and fragments that will eventually work their way in but I don't know when and how, one I can say for certain though is that this will be a Harry/Hermione (Harmony) pairing with other pairings with separate characters maybe happening too. Personally I'm not a big fan of Ron in general but I'll voice my opinions of him as necessary, probably in P.S. notes at the end of chapters. Anyway I've rambled on long enough, enjoy and feel free to review.**

Chapter 1: The Birthday Boy

Harry Potter awoke to stare once again at the ceiling of the cupboard under the stairs, where he had spent the last eleven years eating, sleeping and spending his spare time. Well, almost eleven years; it wasn't quite his birthday yet, and he had never really had any reason to look forward to it. After all, his aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon loved him as much as they loved the Mrs Figg's black, shaggy dog that always seemed to find its way over to Aunt Petunia's tulips to relieve itself. Dudley loved harry even less, beating him for sport and the entertainment of his posse. At least when Vernon did it (Aunt Petunia would never do it, but didn't stop her husband from taking off his belt or reaching for his old cane) he claimed it was for "discipline" and "to beat it out of you". What "it" was harry didn't know.

Speaking of birthdays, Harry suddenly recalled that it was in fact Dudley's 11th birthday today. He groaned at the thought and winced as he sat himself up in bed, his ribs aching from Dudley's beating the day before. Harry lifted his shirt to see the bare outline of his ribs and a reasonably sized bruise over his liver, courtesy of Dudley's left fist. Harry pulled himself out of bed and got dressed into his oversized clothes, hand-me-downs of Dudley's that the Dursleys made him wear instead of wasting good money on him. As he was pulling his shirt over his head a sudden loud rapping came through his bedroom door (A.K.A the cupboard door).

"Boy! Up! Now!" Aunt Petunia's voice rang through, shrill as ever, "Diddykins needs his breakfast!" and off she went.

When he thought it was safe he opened his cupboard door and stepped out. "Stooped out" would be a more accurate description, as Harry was already quite tall for his age. He was closing the door when his head was forced forward by a slap on the back of the head from the birthday boy as Dudley made his way into the kitchen.

"Come on, Potter," he taunted, "I want my bacon," and disappeared behind the kitchen door.

Harry leant his head against the stairs, now aching after Dudley's punch. He hadn't cried at the hand of the Dursleys in a long time, years even, and he wasn't planning on changing that any time soon. He hadn't grown numb to the pain, nor did he like being abused by his relatives, he simply came to realise that this was his life from now on. Maybe when he was older he could escape their clutches and forge a life of his own, but that was a long way away, and harry hadn't even considered what he wanted to do for a job. He knew uncle Vernon worked at a place called Smeltings doing something with drills but he had no idea what and he didn't bother to ask. Even if he did he knew he probably wouldn't get a good answer as the Dursleys hated questions and any form of imagination. Harry had eventually decided just to live life and hope it would get better.

He lifted his head from the staircase and slowly walked to the kitchen where he saw Dudley already opening the presents closest to him from the mountain that stood before him. His adoring parents were sat on the sofa nearby, watching their little boy proudly as he tore through the wrapping paper to reveal his new computer, a racing bike, a remote controlled car, a very formal watch and some new hoodies.

 _My wardrobe in a few years_ , harry thought sarcastically, half believing that there was no way Dudley could outgrow these hoodies that quickly. He grabbed a can of beans from the larder and some bacon and eggs from the fridge before setting them all to cook, stirring and flipping when required. It wasn't long before the first batch was ready and Harry placed what he could on a plate then walked over to Aunt Petunia, who was closest to him. Dudley was the image of his father, gorilla like in size and probably in mind too, with hardly any neck and stubby fingers. Petunia, who was the complete opposite, thin as a stick with a craning neck and elongated fingers, looked up in disgust.

"Not me, you fool!" she snarled, "Diddykins first, it's his day."

Harry weakly turned and began to walk around the stack of presents towards "Diddykins". Unfortunately, Dudley was testing out his new remote controlled car at that particular moment and it shot out right in front of Harry's feet. Before he even realised what had happened Harry was tumbling to the floor and the plate of bacons, beans and eggs was gone from his hand. With a thud he crashed to the floor but looked up just in time to see the plate fall onto Dudley's fat head, spilling beans all over his hair and dropping the eggs over the places his eyes should be.

Dudley and Aunt petunia's cries of terror were masked only by uncle Vernon roaring. He was no thin man but he was surprisingly quick to his feet and even quicker grabbing Harry by the scruff of the neck and throwing him nearly fifteen feet away. Harry knew he had to get out or he'd be in for worse than being thrown across the room. He was up and out of the house before uncle Vernon could even reach the kitchen door, running down Privet Drive to the only place he felt safe; a small patch of woods near the park. Harry didn't like hanging out near motorways and roads like the other kids his age. He had always been cautious of them seeing as how his parents had died in a driving collision and he had no intentions of ending up the same way any time soon.

Harry didn't get ten yards away from Number Four Privet Drive, the house of his aunt and uncle, before Mrs Figg's shaggy black dog was sprinting beside him. He remembered the first time this dog had come running after him. Half of him was worried the dog was trying to attack him, the other was concerned the dog would get lost and Harry didn't want to be the cause of that. He'd have stopped and taken the dog back to it's home if he hadn't annoyed Vernon something terrible and knew he'd be out to his car soon to try and find him or run him over. So he kept running and so did the dog. He seemed to recall Mrs Figg having cats before, so her sudden change to a large dog seemed odd to Harry so he didn't question it.

 _Don't ask questions,_ echoed Petunia's voice in his head.

Harry had developed a knack for running long distance without stopping, to the point he could reach his hiding spot only needing to slow down slightly every so often to catch his breath before speeding up again, although he needed quite a good breather when he eventually stopped. The black dog veered off and disappeared at the edge of Little Whinging as usual when the trees came into view, so Harry continued across the empty park an fields over to them alone. He slipped in-between some bushes and found his usual hiding spot, clear of litter as he always left it. Harry sank against the trunk of a tree and breathed heavily, recovering from his impromptu run. After a minute or so the black dog came through the same bushes as Harry, a small plastic bag in it's jaw which Harry could guess the contents of.

"You are one clever dog," Harry spoke aloud, unsure if the dog could even understand him or if he was just speaking to the air. The dog dropped the bag on Harry's legs and he gladly grabbed the water bottle inside. "Thanks, Snuffles," Harry said as Snuffles licked his slightly bloodied knuckles that were resting on his bent leg. Harry ruffled Snuffles behind the ears which he appeared to like as he made his way to Harry's side, lay down and placed his head on Harry's lap. Harry lay there with him and stroked his side as he munched through the sandwich and chocolate bar that were also in the bag. Harry didn't know how or why but Snuffles always brought him a stash of food when he could and knew where to find him. More than once Harry had been off walking where he thought nobody would find him, only to be met by Snuffles trotting along beside him. Not that he didn't like the company, on the contrary he loved it. Snuffles was a companion that seemed to like him and he certainly liked Snuffles so he saw no reason to not let the dog be with him when he managed to escape the Number Four.

Harry felt so comfy and tired from his run and snack that he allowed himself to nod off to sleep, Snuffles curled beside him.

When he awoke he glanced at his watch and found it to be early evening, around four o'clock, so Harry decided to head back to Number Four. He remembered that his aunt and uncle were taking Dudley and one of his friends to the zoo and then out to a meal that evening so Harry still had some time to get back to the house and relax for a little while before they returned. No doubt Dudley had been compensated for Harry's fall with another few presents on their trip and Harry did not look forward to Dudley's smug face or the beating he would likely receive from his cousin.

He got up and stretched, causing Snuffles to wake up and do the same thing.

"Come on, Snuffles. Time to go home," harry groaned and Snuffles let out a similar whine. On their way back to Privet Drive, harry often found himself making up conversations with Snuffles and treating his responsive barks as the other half of the conversation. The conversation he created on this particular night went a little something like this:

"So, any plans for the weekend, Snuffles?"

*Bark*

"Your sister in Manchester, huh? What's she like?"

*Bark*

"Well, of course she's a bitch but that doesn't answer my question."

*Bark* *Bark*

"I know, I'm hilarious… Do you see much of your family?"

*Bark*

"Not since the accident? What happened?"

*Bark* *Bark*

"No! How could he?!"

*Bark* *Bark* *Bark*

"What is the world coming to?" Harry tutted.

Harry would carry on the conversation until they reached Privet Drive, where Harry would say goodbye to Snuffles and he would bark back in reply.

Harry was glad to see that uncle Vernon's car was not in the driveway, meaning they hadn't returned from their day out yet. Harry walking up the path to Number Four when he was stopped by a peculiar site.

There was an owl perched on the front door step of Number Four.

Harry was astounded. He looked around, expecting some kind of prank. The owl cocked its head and cooed slightly at him so Harry, not seeing any way around it, approached the owl. He noticed that it carried in its beak a letter with emerald ink, shining in the evening sun. And Harry saw that the letter bore his name. He slowly approached the owl and kneeled down in front of it, slowly reaching for the letter and grabbing it gently. The owl relinquished its grip on the letter and took off as Harry stood to read the envelope's address:

Harry James Potter  
The Cupboard Under The Stairs  
No. 4 Privet Driving  
Little Whinging, Surrey 

Harry was slightly taken aback. He had never received a letter before that he knew of, not from school or library or the bank or anything. Harry was so confused by the letter that he almost didn't see the emblem stamped onto it. It was some kind of Coat of Arms bearing a lion, a badger, an eagle and a snake, one in each corner. Harry decided to read the letter indoors so made sure nobody was watching and let himself into the house after taking the spare key from the hanging basket nearby. Once inside he decided to open it in his cupboard. Not only would it mean he could hide the letter should the Dursleys come back early, but he also felt ironically comfortable in his cupboard as nobody ever went in there but him.

He sat on his bed and broke the seal to the letter and read what was inside. He almost couldn't take it in.

" _Dear Mr Potter,_

 _We are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…"_

It went on to list things Harry would need and the date and time he would need to be at King's Cross Station to catch the train to this magic school.

"You have got to be joking," Harry again spoke aloud to himself, quite literally, "this is some kind of birthday prank from Dudley, surely."

 _But how did Dudley manage to teach an owl to wait on our doorstep with a letter?_ Harry pondered, _he wouldn't put that much effort into as prank, and uncle Vernon and aunt petunia would never partake in one anyway. It involves imagination after all…_

Harry spent the rest of the time he planned to watch TV instead wondering what this letter was. He was so lost in thought he didn't even hear Uncle Vernon's car pull up outside and had just enough time to shut his cupboard door before the Dursley's came through the front door, talking excitedly and making quite the commotion. Dudley was muttering something like "let's get it set up" and Aunt Petunia replied "as long as I don't have to touch it". Harry wasn't sure he even wanted to know what was going on, but he knew what he was going to do with the letter. He had read it so many times he practically had it memorised so he was going to wait for Aunt Petunia and Dudley to go to bed and then he would ask Uncle Vernon about it. Vernon was always the last to bed as he stayed up to watch the news and the football results. Not that he cared about football, he just didn't want to not have a conversation topic the next day at work and most of the men at Smeltings seemed to enjoy the sport.

Harry heard Dudley's heavy feet plod up to his room after a while and aunt Petunia make her way up slowly after. Harry waited a few minutes for them to get settled and then slowly opened his cupboard door and crept into the living room.

"Uncle Vernon?" He said to the room, as Vernon was watching the television. Vernon sighed heavily.

"What is it, boy?" he growled.

"I got a letter today," Harry replied and was interrupted when he took a breath.

"Oh goody. Would you like me to stick it on the fridge?" Vernon teased with a chuckle at his own joke.

"It's from a place called Hogwarts and it says something about-"

"What?" Vernon snapped, his head jerking to harry in an instant. He stood up quickly and strode over to Harry and snatched the letter from his hands, all the while muttering "Who? Where? To you? What?" He observed the letter with wide eyes and raced from the room, his face stricken with fear. Harry was right behind him reeling off questions as they walked outside and Harry saw Vernon tear his letter to pieces and throw it in the bin outside the house.

"No!" Harry called but was pushed back inside by Vernon.

Neither of them spotted the black, shaggy dog watching them from Mrs Figg's front step.

Harry was outraged that Vernon had torn up his letter, his _only_ letter.

"You git!" he cried out, "Why?! Why did you do that?!"

Vernon wheeled around so quickly Harry almost fell, but he was grabbed by Vernon on his shirt and lifted off his feet.

"You want to be a wizard, ay, Potter?! You want to cast spells and fly brooms?! Well, tough luck, boy! There's no such thing as magic!" He slapped Harry with the back of his hand and let him fall to the floor outside his cupboard door. Vernon wrenched the door open, not caring that it hit Harry, then picked him up and pushed him inside. Harry triped and fell onto his bed, lightly smacking his head on the wall upon impact and causing his glasses to slip off the bridge of his nose. He heard Petunia come halfway down the stairs.

"Vernon? What is it?" she asked weakly.

Vernon's reply started quiet but eventually grew to another shout.

"He's one of them… he's in the house, I will not have one in the house Petunia… No… No! They know where we live! We have to get out of here, go somewhere they can't find us!"

Harry couldn't see but he heard the front door of the house blast open and a bright white light cast through the foyer of the house, breaking through the cracks in Harry's door. Petunia shrieked and Vernon cowered as a voice spoke to them. Rough and deep with anger at its core.

"You'll do no such thing. You'll stay right here and wait to hear from Hogwarts again. Is Harry upstairs, in his room?"

Vernon's reply was weak and whimpering.

"Y-yes he's… he's upstairs in-in-in- in his bed- bed room…"

"Good," the man replied, "I've seen you mistreating him, Dursley, and I've been told not to intervene, but should I ever find out the extent of the abuse you've placed upon that boy, I hope for your sake your out of my grasp by then… you will wait for more news."

"Mhm," Vernon hummed weakly.

The door closed, the light vanished and Harry felt the vibration as Vernon slid against the wall, down the floor. For the first time in his life, Harry heard Vernon weeping. Petunia sounded like she came to sit with him and hold him.

"I thought it would stop," Vernon sobbed, "I thought we could beat it out of him…"

Noises of comfort came from Petunia but Vernon would receive none from Harry. All he could think of was that someone was on his side nearby and there was a school of magic that wanted him.

 _But why?_ He wondered, _Why would they want you? An orphan boy with no real talents and only a dog as a friend,_ his heart sank as he continued to think, _they probably want me for target practice, or test new potions on me, or to be the secretary of some professor._

He spent so long thinking about the horrible ways the school would probably use him that he didn't feel himself fall asleep again. When he awoke, the loud banging ordering him to prepare breakfast never came, Dudley's thundering footsteps didn't shake the stairs above him and his face hurt instead of his ribs today. Instead of all the commotion, there instead came a light tapping at the door. Harry got up cautiously and opened it. There stood Uncle Vernon and he politely asked Harry to step back so he could sit in the cupboard with him. Harry obeyed, confused and sat on the bed too.

"Y'know Harry," Vernon began, looking around the cupboard, "Your aunt and I have decided that it's high time you had a bedroom of your own instead of this dingy cupboard, so we're clearing out Dudley's spare room and you can have that instead."

Harry was glad with the news but couldn't help but jab at Vernon.

"It took you eleven years to figure out I should have a bedroom of my own?" He quipped.

"Don't get smart with me, boy!" Vernon growled and Harry saw his hand twitch slightly but he didn't flinch. Vernon hadn't scared Harry for a long time. "We just decided that it wasn't right for us to keep you here when you're a growing lad who need room. So get all this stuff upstairs at once."

As Vernon was leaving, Harry took one last dig at his uncle.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the man who came to the house last night would it?"

"Man? What man? No man came here last night," Vernon was walking out of the cupboard but was stopped by Harry's next line.

"Yeah there was, y'know the man who made you cry."

Vernon stood stock still for a few seconds. Harry knew he'd plucked a nerve. He also knew Vernon didn't want to risk anything anymore. After a moment, he left the corridor and walked into the kitchen, defeated.

Harry smirked. Things were going to get better.


	2. Chapter 2: Snakes, Scars and Sausages

**I hope the first chapter was a good enough start to this story and balanced exposition and plot developments pretty equally. I'll be adding new chapters as and when they're finished instead of sticking to a schedule so there may be irregular upload times but I'd rather be able to write freely and creatively without the pressure of keeping to a deadline. I should also place a warning on this as the "Scars" in the chapter title doesn't refer specifically to the lightning bolt on Harry's head (it will become clear in the chapter) and his feelings about them will play a part in later chapters so possible trigger warning for people who have suffered abuse. Even though I'm only a couple of chapters in so far I've been enjoying writing all of it and I hope this motivation continues for a long time.**

 **Anyway I'll stop talking now, enjoy the chapter and feel free to leave a review of what you think.**

* * *

It didn't take long for Harry to move all of his belongings up to Dudley's old – no, Harry's new – bedroom. What did take time was Dudley reluctantly removing all of his old toys, games, untouched books and other miscellaneous items out and finding places in his own room to store them. Eventually, and after many threatening looks from his cousin, Harry was able to bring his single box of possessions into his new bedroom and arrange them accordingly. When he was done he lay on his bed (much softer and more comfortable than the one under the stairs) and stared at the ceiling. He wished he hadn't shown the letter to Vernon. Or rather he wished he had made a copy of it somehow; he had never really used a computer so he would have no idea how to make a photocopy of some kind but he was sure he had had enough to time to grab a pad and pen and write down everything the letter had said, just in case.

Harry had never had no chores on a normal day before either. He had practically been the chef and cleaner of the entire house, serving his unbearable relatives in any way they saw fit. The only days he got any relative freedom was if he ran away (and even then he was usually punished for it) or they went out for some time and thought they had locked Harry in his cupboard. Somehow, even when he was sure he had heard the latch slam across, Harry found the door unlocked when he went to push it. He assumed the lock was busted and never complained to Vernon or Petunia about it lest they get it replaced.

Harry decided to do as he always did and go for a walk. He went to grab his jacket from the wardrobe – a piece of furniture Harry had never had before – and noticed something sticking out from the top shelf that Dudley must have missed while emptying the room out. He pulled it down and was smacked on the head by a pack of drawing and coloured pencils that were lying on top of what was evidently a drawing pad. It was completely empty apart from the first page where Dudley had tried to draw a stickman in the corner and failed disastrously. Harry reckoned that Dudley would never notice he was missing these items so he claimed them as his own. He pocketed the pad and pencils and was just leaving his room when he caught himself in the mirror – another thing he had never had for himself. He had only ever seen himself in the bathroom mirror and the odd photo he got caught in. His eyes went to the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. This one was not like his other scars; he had received this one in the car crash that killed his parents. Lily and James Potter. He knew their names but not their faces, not their laughs, not how they spoke. Thinking of them, or rather thinking of what he didn't know of them always saddened him so he decided not to. He thought about them a lot, often when he felt most alone or miserable. Sometimes thinking of them was comforting but usually it reminded him of what he didn't have and would never have; a loving family. He forced himself away from the mirror and set off out of the house. None of the Dursleys made any notion that they cared he was leaving.

Right on cue, Snuffles came trotting along beside Harry as he walked down Privet Drive. Harry wondered if Snuffles did anything other than wait for Harry to come outside. Then again, Harry couldn't judge the dog, as made clear by the fact that Harry had complete freedom and decided to do what he always did and go walking. But this time he wasn't going to go to his usual hiding spot in the park. Instead he decided to walk along one of the many paths spreading through it and eventually came to the top of a large hill. As he was met with the astounding view of the entire village he realised he had never seen it on such a grand scale. He was always walking in it and therefore never saw it all from a distance. He found a park bench and sat down to take it all in, Snuffles coming to sit on the ground beside him.

Harry took the drawing pad from his pocket and a few coloured pencils and decided he would try drawing the village before him. He tried all he could but he soon came to realise that he was just drawing the same house over and over again with little to no variation. The trees were interesting as no two were the same, every single one had a branch spreading out in a different direction to the others which made them fun to draw. Harry looked down at his first drawing and couldn't say he thought it was good, but it was his very first so he decided to keep it in the drawing pad. He wanted to draw something else but didn't know what. All of the flowers were too far away from him to give accurate detail and he'd already drawn the fabulous view spread out before him. He was considering getting up and leaving to find a better spot when he heard Snuffles sneeze beside him. How could he have not thought of it faster?

He tried to adjust himself to get a better view of Snuffles without causing him to move but he couldn't quite get the right angle. Then, as if knowing what Harry was trying to do, Snuffles got up and sat just as he had before but now in front of Harry, looking into the distance behind him. Harry seized his opportunity and began to sketch the basic outline of the dog and continued from there. Snuffles had very thick, shaggy fur which was difficult to make look as good on paper as it did in real life but Harry tried his best and after a while he had finished the drawing. Now this one he liked. He turned the pad around to show his model the final result.

"What do you think, Snuffles? Look like you?" Harry asked. Snuffles' response was to lick his own nose and then nuzzle Harry's hand which he took to mean he liked it. Harry chuckled and ruffled the dog's head. It was getting late and Harry still had to get back to Number Four, so he rose from the bench and set off back to Privet Drive. The evening sun was shining by the time Harry arrived back and Snuffles returned to Mrs Figg's front door step. He slipped in through the front door of Number Four and had already opened the door to the cupboard under the stairs when he remembered he didn't sleep there anymore. He walked up to his bedroom and propped down onto the bed, deciding to take a short nap while he waited for Vernon to come upstairs to sleep. Even though it was a spare bed Harry had never felt such comfort and it didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep.

* * *

Harry was lucky that Vernon stubbed his toe outside Harry's room or he doubted he would have been able to get up from his bed. He waited for the sound of Vernon's snoring before creaking open his bedroom door and making his way downstairs. When he walked into the kitchen he was greeted by an unusual light nearby. He looked over to see a terrarium with a pale blue light coming from it. Curiosity took the better of him and he crept over slowly to the enclosure, intrigued as to what creature Dudley had been bought. Harry peered in and saw a python curled up, sleeping in the centre of the case. He watched for a few seconds and almost jumped back when the snake lifted its head and looked back at him.

"H… Hello…" Harry said aloud.

 _Why am I talking to a snake?_ Harry was thinking when the strangest thing happened.

"Hello there," the snake replied. Harry was aghast.

"You… you can talk?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"It would appear so. Or at least, I can talk to you."

"To me? Why me?"

"Clearly you are no ordinary boy, Mister…?"

"Potter. My name is Harry Potter."

"Mister Potter it is then. You see Mister Potter, only certain people can understand us… talk to us…"

"What kind of people?"

"People you will come to know soon enough, Mister Potter."

"Please, call me Harry. Sorry, I didn't even ask for your name."

"I have had many names Harry, but the first to name me gave me the name Nagini. The boy who now owns me decided my name should me Slipper… personally, I prefer Nagini."

"Yeah, my cousin never was very creative with… anything at all. Sorry."

"There is nothing for you to be sorry for, Harry; you did not name me."

The snake went silent for a moment before posing Harry a question.

"May I give you some advice Harry?"

Harry nodded. He never thought he'd be taking an advice from an animal, let alone the irony of said creature being a snake. He was not religious but everyone knew the negative stereotype surrounding snakes.

"Do not judge anyone by their name, person or creature," the snake began, "if we had not spoken tonight you would have probably seen me as Slipper, your cousin's pet, just a snake, a creature in a glass cage that meant nothing to you. Tell me, now that we have spoken, would you think I'm just a snake?"

"No," Harry shook his head slightly, "you're not ordinary, you're special."

Nagini chuckled, "On the contrary, Harry, _you_ are the special one. All snakes can understand you, but you are one of the very few who can understand us."

Harry thought he heard a low rumbling out in Privet Drive. He assumed it was a neighbour coming home from a late shift at work.

"As I was saying," Nagini continued, "regardless of whether my name was Nagini or Slipper, I'm still the same snake. The same goes for your kind too. Just because a person has a proud and noble name does not mean those are traits the person shares. Someone with a name that connotes fear or other negative thoughts does not mean the person deserves those assumptions. Names are of the mind, our soul is of our hearts and it's what's in our hearts that really matters."

Harry was in awe of Nagini. He managed to say "thank-" but was cut off by an almighty crash outside Number Four. Instinctively Harry looked at the window across the room.

"Be seeing you, Harry Potter," Nagini said and when Harry looked back he had gone back to sleep.

Harry raced to the window and looked through the blinds to see a huge motorcycle parked outside Number Four, with no apparent damage done to it or anything around it. More shocking, however, was the size of the man that Harry managed to glimpse as he walked up to the front door of Number Four, silhouetted by the dim exterior lights of the houses across the road. He couldn't tell exactly how tall the man was but Harry couldn't see his face at least. The noise of Vernon barging down the stairs was closely followed by three heavy knocks at the front door. Harry was petrified so he couldn't imagine how fearful Vernon and Petunia were right now. Harry stood rooted to the spot as he heard Vernon call out.

"Who are you?!" He yelled, trying to sound confident but utterly failing, "What do you- Dudley! Stay upstairs! What do you want?!"

Three more knocks.

Harry couldn't see what was going on but he when he heard the front door open he could assume that Vernon had seen no other option.

"Dursley," a deep voice said.

"Y-Yes?" Vernon replied.

"Where's Harry?"

"He's… he should be in his bedroom,"

"No he's not," Harry called out, finding his voice through his fear. Why did this person know his name?

"Move," the deep voice said and Harry heard him push past Vernon. A second later a giant of a man rounded the corner, at least twice the size of Vernon (who was not a small man), wearing a huge, brown coat which looked like it could keep you warm in the coldest winters, and it appeared to have been through its fair share of those. Why the man was wearing it in the middle of summer Harry didn't know. He also realised that even if the man had been a reasonable size he wouldn't have been able to see his face anyway; the man had a huge, black, bushy beard covering the majority of his face and a head of hair to match, but even with limited view to his face Harry could see a delighted smile spread and his eyes change from cold and judging to warm and welcoming. "Harry!" he bellowed and marched over to the boy before bending slightly and hugging him tightly, "It's been a long time since I last saw you Harry, you were only a wee nipper then."

Harry was so confused he didn't know what to do so he just let the man squeeze him until he relinquished his hold.

"Oh! Where are my manners?" the man said half to himself before sticking out a huge, oversized hand, "Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Harry politely grabbed the giant's hand and shook it,

"Harry… Harry Potter," he replied.

"Oh, don't worry, 'Arry. I know all about you. But before we go any further, food! Have you eaten?"

Harry shook his head.

"You better have been feeding him Dursley!" Hagrid called out to Vernon who had also just rounded the corner. Hagrid walked over to Vernon and pulled out a bag from the inside of his pocket. "Here ye go, Dursley, make yourself useful. Everything you need in there to make me and the lad a nice hot breakfast."

Vernon was stammering uncontrollably and would continue to for the foreseeable future.

"If you think I'm cooking at this time of night for you and the boy then you're very much mistaken!" Vernon fired but was shut down by Hagrid's glare.

"The boy is called Harry, Dursley," Hagrid growled, "put it this way: either you go and cook this like a good muggle or I set fire to that rug over there and I'll cook it meself."

Vernon was clearly not pleased about being called a muggle (whatever he supposed that was) but also didn't want to anger this giant of a man any further, so he took the bag and went to the kitchen. Petunia sneaked in and helped him but Hagrid didn't seem to care. Hagrid sat on the sofa and tapped the seat next to him, prompting Harry to come and by his side.

"Sorry about the time o' this," Hagrid began, "I came as soon as I was told how urgent it was. Seeing as I was meant to come and get ye on your eleventh birthday I was gonna bake ye a cake and bring it for ye, but we were informed by… an associate, that your uncle had taken your letter and destroyed it. The associate also believes that he then struck you… is that true Harry?"

Harry didn't know why but he felt that he could trust Hagrid. Harry looked into his beady eyes and eventually nodded.

"Not for the first time," Harry muttered, not wanting Vernon to hear. He wasn't afraid of Vernon, he just didn't feel comfortable talking about it with them so close by, plus he could see Hagrid already getting worked up.

"How long's he been doing it?" Hagrid asked.

"Vernon? Since I started school. Dudley-"

"Your cousin beats ye too?" Hagrid blurted out, astounded. Harry nodded.

"For as long as I can remember."

Hagrid made several angry noises and got fidgety. It was clear he was not happy in the slightest.

"I've been told not to act," Hagrid said through his breaths, "I've been told they'll be dealt with accordingly. But they don't need to know that," Hagrid winked and Harry couldn't help but smirk.

He liked this man.

"Well, as for your letter, here ye go," Hagrid withdrew from another one of his pockets an identical letter to that which Harry had been given by the owl the day before. Harry thanked him and he opened the letter, reading it again.

"What… what are they going to do to me?" Harry asked and Hagrid looked very confused.

"Do to you?" He asked, "What do you mean, 'Arry?"

"Well, will I be used for target practice? Or experimenting? What does the school usually do with people like me?"

"People like you?" Hagrid chuckled, "Well, we educate 'em, Harry. And just for the record we don't use people for target practice or experimenting. Although I wouldn't mind feedin' some of the Slytherins to the giant squid in the lake," Hagrid chuckled to himself but Harry was more confused than ever.

"Slytherins? Giant squid?" Harry rattled off, "Muggles?"

"Muggles are non-magic folk, 'Arry."

"So if we're muggles, why do you want us?"

"They're muggles," Hagrid said, nodding his head in the direction of the Dursleys, "you're not."

"So…" Harry didn't know what was happening, "So what am…"

Hagrid knew he was lost so helped him out just a little.

"You're a wizard, Harry."

Harry was dumbstruck. He began stammering as he spoke.

"I… I can't be a- a wizard," he stuttered as Hagrid smiled knowingly.

"Don't worry Harry, being a wizard isn't something you can have beaten out of ye," Hagrid said and Harry suddenly realised what Vernon had been so afraid of, what the "it" had been. Speaking of Vernon, he and Petunia came back into the room holding plates with sausages, beans, bacon and eggs cooked fresh, steaming hot, and glasses of fresh orange juice.

"Thank ye, Dursley. Now, leave us to eat will ye?" Hagrid said as he had a spoonful of beans. Vernon's mouth opened repeatedly before he was pushed from the room by his wife.

"Tuck in, 'Arry," Hagrid said and Harry wasted no time. He'd never had a meal cooked for him so it was nice to eat food he hadn't been staring at while it cooked. He was surprised by the quality of the meal before Hagrid seemed to read his mind.

"I, uh, had a friend charm that food I gave 'em. No matter how bad they cooked it, it would still come out like this," and he gestured to the well cooked meal before them. It didn't take long for them both to finish their food and mop up the remains with some bread Hagrid pulled from another pocket.

"Dursley," Hagrid called out and Vernon appeared with his wife behind him seconds later.

"Harry will be coming with me tonight, Dursley, and we'll take care of him for now-" he stopped himself abruptly and looked at Harry, "if that's what you'd like?" Harry nodded quickly and Hagrid continued, "He'll be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and will learn to become a great wizard. The fact you haven't told him any of this astounds me Dursley. It's your responsibility as his guardian to inform him of this," Hagrid paused for a second and stood, glaring at Vernon, "even more so, your responsibility is to maintain his wellbeing, feed him well, dress him appropriately, and keep him in good health, not starve him, give him oversized clothes and treat him as your personal slave! And worse, beat him!"

Vernon stammered as he repeated what Hagrid was accusing him of.

"We have done no such thing! We have been fine guardians to him these last ten years!"

"So if I look at his back there won't be marks and more scars than the one on his head there?!" Hagrid bellowed. Harry suddenly grew nervous. Hagrid was the first person he'd told about his beatings and he trusted him, but he never wanted anybody to see the scars other scars he bore. He was ashamed of them. Vernon didn't scare him, none of them did, but the scars stayed, the marks remained on his skin and he soon began to feel ugly. He often overheard the shows that the Dursleys watched talk about scars like war trophies or signs of life experience. But to Harry they made him feel weak. He'd always been treated inferior to relatives, told he didn't deserve friends or praise from other people, but he never believed it until the scars stained his skin. His scars scared him.

Harry looked up and saw Hagrid looking at him, kindness in his eyes.

"You don't have to if ye don't want to, Harry," Hagrid reassured him. Harry dropped his head from Hagrid's gaze, ashamed that even if he didn't lift his shirt, Hagrid knew about the scars. Knowing about the beatings were one thing, but he'd hoped Hagrid wouldn't guess they had marked him.

"See? He doesn't want to! Because we didn't do anything!" Vernon argued with Hagrid, who said nothing. Harry looked at Vernon, anger and fear colliding in his heart. His desire to hide the scars was battling with his want to see Vernon revealed for what he was. He managed to get to his feet and saw Vernon's look of worry flash across his face before Harry turned to have his back to the room. He took off his jacket and slowly pulled his t-shirt high enough up around his back to show his scars. Hagrid growled but Vernon was perfectly silent. Petunia wouldn't look at Harry's back. Hagrid knelt beside Harry and still had to duck down significantly to speak quietly to him.

"Ye did well, Harry. They'll pay for what they've done."

Harry pulled his shirt back down and put on his jacket again. His hands were shaking and he wanted to try and calm himself down but he couldn't leave the room yet. Hagrid turned back to Vernon.

"Harry will be coming with me and learning to become a wizard at Hogwarts, where Headmaster Albus Dumbledore will care for him, as you should have done. That's all you need to know and more than you deserve to. If there's any goodbyes that you-"

"Wizards! Magic!" came a familiar voice and Harry turned to see Dudley stood nearby, "Mummy I want to learn magic too! Let me go too! I want to be a wizard!"

"No you don't!" Vernon and Petunia said together.

"And no you won't!" Hagrid said sternly.

Dudley turned to stare at the giant.

"Yu don't scare me, you old git!" Dudley shouted and Hagrid's eyes narrowed.

"Old git?!" he bellowed and withdrew a pink umbrella from inside his coat, pointing it right at Dudley's face. The end glowed pink, a flash of light and suddenly a pig with Dudley's voice stood on four legs before them, oinking in terror. It ran right out of the room and a petrified Vernon and Petunia ran right after it. Harry allowed himself a chuckle at the slight of his cousin in his natural form. "Ah it'll wear off in a few hours… I think… Did I use the right spell? Bah! Oh well," He took another bag from his coat, this one a rope-tightened one, and handed it to Harry. "This bag's been enchanted to carry much more than it should be able to hold. Go get all your stuff, I'll be waiting here."

Harry took the bag gratefully and realised this was his first interaction with a magical item. He was both excited and fearful of it; what if he used it wrong? Would it break? He went up to his room and also noticed that he probably wouldn't need it to be enchanted to hold all of his possessions. He grabbed his few clothes, his drawing pad and pencils, the spare glasses he kept near his bed and the one other pair of shoes he had. Within two minutes from leaving, Harry was back with Hagrid.

"I think I know what your answer will be but it wouldn't feel right to not have the opportunity; do you want to say goodbye to them?" Hagrid asked.

Harry looked out at the Dursleys in the garden, chasing Dudley around. He walked slowly to the door.

"Goodbye" he said, not very loud, but they noticed him all the same. Vernon looked up in fury, trying to hold his son.

"Get out!" he bellowed, and Harry, taking one last look at what was left of his family, turned and walked straight past Hagrid, opened the front door and out onto the drive of Number Four. He breathed air like it was the first time he was doing it. Hagrid followed him out, hitting his head on the hanging basket by the door and closed it behind him. He walked to stand next to Harry and placed his huge hand on his shoulder.

"Everything's gonna be ok, Harry," he said looking down at him, "you're gonna be fine."

Harry looked up at Hagrid, the first person to ever really care for him (except for Snuffles) and smiled. Harry suddenly remembered Snuffles and looked across to see him sat on Mrs Figg's front door step. Upon noticing him, Snuffles got up and walked over to Harry, who kneeled down to greet him.

"I'm going away, Snuffles," Harry said, stroking Snuffles' fur. Hagrid saw that this was a rather personal exchange so he busied himself getting the huge motorcycle ready, "I don't know if I'll be coming back or when, but I hope I see you again." Snuffles whined sadly and tapped Harry's knee gently with his paw, nuzzling his chest. "I'll miss you," Harry said, his eyes growing wet all of a sudden. Snuffles licked his face and Harry couldn't help from laughing. He kissed Snuffles on the head, ruffled his fur one last time, then forced himself to his feet and over to the motorcycle on which Hagrid was now seated. Harry climbed into the sidecar and waited for Hagrid to start the engine which roared into life. Harry couldn't stop himself from looking back and seeing Snuffles sat in the middle of the road, waiting for them to leave. The motorcycle set off, they began to move away and Harry waved goodbye to his first ever friend.

Harry expected to round the corner at the end of Privet Drive but instead felt himself lifting. He looked to see Hagrid pulling a lever on the bike which shouldn't be there and saw the ground fall away beneath him. He also saw a black shaggy spot running down Privet Drive beneath them, shrinking out of sight as Harry and Hagrid flew higher.

"Hope you don't mind heights," Hagrid said, huge goggles around his beady eyes. Harry had never been up high before so he didn't know how he would react to it, but he was doing all he could to force his mind away from Snuffles so he looked at the world beneath him as they flew.

He didn't know where they were going or what was going to happen to him now, but he was sure that this was the start of a new life for him.

* * *

 **This was a fun chapter to write mainly because of Hagrid's character. In the canon books I always felt that even though Harry had other father figures like Sirius, Arthur and even Dumbledore in a way, Hagrid was the closest to a father he had for a long time. One of the reasons for this is how Hagrid's first thought in the books, even though he has so much to explain and a very important job to do, is if Harry is alright, something I tried to incorporate into his first meeting here too. As I said in the intro, Harry's scars won't be like a major part of the story but they do build part of his character and will be important in future chapters that I already have in mind.**

 **Also I could do with some help in what rating I should give this; obviously harry is being abused which is a serious topic but I'm not sure that constitutes a Mature rating, I'm not planning on using many expletives and even though characters will be in relationships later in the series I'm pretty certain I'm not going to write anything explicitly graphic about it so for now it's at a T rating, please let me know what you think it should be so far and I'll change it if necessary. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review of what you thought.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Ranch

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to JK Rowling.**

 **This chapter features a few characters of my own creation and the location this chapter takes place is also not canon but I liked the idea of seeing more safe-houses than just The Burrow and Grimmauld Place so I created this one for Harry to stay at for now instead.**

Chapter 3: The Stop Off

Harry watched as the world ran beneath him, the roads like winding snakes in the grass. He had to admit being up high made him a little nauseous but he didn't know when or if he would ever see the world from this view again so he pushed through.

"Hagrid, where are we going?" Harry asked.

"The Stop Off," Hagrid replied over the wind, "a sorta safe house we can use while we wait for the school year to start. Usually we'd use the Leaky Cauldron but seeing as you're new to all this, thought best to go somewhere more comfortable."

"The Leaky Cauldron?" Harry asked, every answer given seeming to give him more questions.

"Aye, a wizard pub," Hagrid answered, "but more of that later, for now I just need to make sure I find the right place."

They zoomed overhead for a while longer, orange streetlights trailing behind them, the odd car slipping beneath them. Suddenly Harry was worried.

"The people- the muggles… can't they see us?" Harry asked, suddenly aware of how odd it would be for a driver to look up and see a flying motorcycle above them.

"Nah, not this high up," Hagrid reassured him, "if I dropped outta the sky in front of 'em then yeah, but there's a disillusioning charm on this bike… means it blends in," Hagrid added seeing Harry's confused look at the word "disillusioning". "Hold on… I think…. I might have…" Hagrid said almost to himself. Suddenly Harry felt a rippling sensation, like he had just moved through a wall of jelly, "found it!" Hagrid exclaimed with a hearty laugh, "Knew it was around here somewhere."

Harry wondered what in the world Hagrid was talking about when he looked ahead and saw what looked like a ranch beneath them, fields and pastures spreading far and wide – or at least as far and wide as Harry could see in the dark.

"Hold tight, we're headin' down," Hagrid warned him and Harry grabbed the rim of the sidecar. Hagrid was aiming for a dirt runway to the side of the ranch's main building, a large, wooden house painted blue with what looked like four storeys, balconies and patios decorating several areas. "Here we go," Hagrid said as they inched towards the ground. With a thud, a wobble and a screech the bike landed and Hagrid sighed in relief as he guided it towards a garage. "Landings always the hardest part," Hagrid said as he turned into the empty garage and turned off the motorcycle's engine. They climbed out and Harry was quite glad to be back on solid ground again. They walked out of the garage and into the cold, refreshing night air. Lights were coming from the ranch and crickets chirped in the distance.

"Where are we?" Harry was on a roll with questions tonight.

"This, Harry, is the Stop Off," Hagrid announced, opening his arms dramatically, "some prefer to call it The Ranch but it don't matter really. It's basically a safe house for those who fought You-Know-Who last time, or friends of the Order."

"You-Know-Who?" Harry was more confused than before he asked.

"Yeah, You-Know-Who," Hagrid looked down at Harry, "You know who You-Know-Who is."

"Sorry, no," Harry admitted and Hagrid was flabbergasted. He was very flustered and started coughing as if stopping himself from speaking, "my word Harry, did them Dursley's not tell ye _anything_ about… about… before?"

Harry shook his head again and Hagrid seemed completely taken aback.

"Come on, let's get in quick," Hagrid suggested and they walked up the creaky steps up to the patio and Hagrid walked right in. Harry, not sure how he felt about walking straight into a new building without so much as a knock, followed Hagrid inside. Once on the other side of the door, Hagrid sighed heavily but happily and looked around the well-lit room. The floor was wooden but laminated and brown instead of blue, the wallpaper was cream with some kind of pattern embedded into it, there were several armchair and sofas positioned in different ways; a group faced a built-in fireplace, others were placed beside a bookcase, some faced a window looking outside. Other decorations were dotted around, rugs, flowers, a few pictures of people Harry didn't recognise, a record player and radio placed on a storage unit in the corner. This appeared to be some kind of living room and Harry felt he could be quite comfortable here.

"Rubeus!" a cheerful voice came from a chair by the bookcase. There sat a rather handsome man, with short, chestnut coloured hair and a charming smile. He did, however, bear three long scars that stretched across his face. Though they were faded they were still quite clear and Harry couldn't help but wonder how he got them. The man placed his book on the armrest of the chair he was sat in and stood up to walk over to them, "so good to see you agai-" he stopped abruptly having noticed Harry stood there. Harry was worried he had something on his face when the man looked back to Hagrid, "Harry?" he almost whispered and Hagrid nodded slowly with a smile.

"Harry, this is Remus Lupin," Hagrid revealed.

"Nice to meet you, Mr Lupin," Harry greeted and extended his hand to Lupin, who knealt down on one knee and grasped it.

"The pleasure is mine, Harry," he replied but Harry was slightly concerned about how Lupin was looking at him, "forgive me, it's just remarkable… you look just like your father."

"You knew him?" Harry asked, suddenly a little anxious.

"Knew him?" Lupin chuckled, "James was one of my closest friends, Harry. We met in our first year at Hogwarts and were fond friends ever since. In fact, he's right over here," Lupin stood and guided him over to one of the pictures hanging on the wall. There stood a man and a woman posing for the photo together, their arms around each other. A startling surprise to Harry was that the picture was moving, the couple clearly swaying slightly as they tried to maintain a good look for the camera, smiling and laughing together. The woman had sweet green eyes and flowing ginger hair. But it was the man that took Harry by surprise as he saw that the man before him was indeed his father. He had the same untidy black hair and the same round glasses. Harry wouldn't have been surprised if he was actually seeing a vision of his own future.  
"Your mother and father were closer than I knew two people could be," Lupin commented as Harry looked at his parents for the first time. He wasn't quite sure how to react. He had never seen them before and had always wondered what they looked like, and now to see them he felt almost transfixed by them. "Such a shame what You-Know-Who did to th-"

Hagrid coughed roughly and loudly and Lupin looked at him in confusion. Then he realised.

"He doesn't…?" Lupin didn't finish but Hagrid nodded solemnly, "Merlin's beard… Harry, I think we need to talk."

Harry went along with them as they sat on the chairs facing the fireplace, Hagrid having to take the largest, Lupin taking the opposite one and Harry sat alone on the sofa. Hagrid made himself comfortable in his armchair but Lupin seemed anything but, sat forward with his hands clasped together, looking nervous about whatever he was about to say.

"Harry, what did the Dursley's say happened to your parents?" Lupin asked, being sure to be careful how he worded his sentence.

"They said they died in a car crash," Harry answered, "that's how I got this," he added, pointing to his scar.

"Ah…" Lupin said simply. He paused for a long time before continuing, "Harry… your parents didn't die in a car crash."

Harry had been expecting this, considering how everyone seemed to be dodging the topic. He didn't know what to say so he just listened.

"Years ago, the wizarding world was being terrorised by Lord Voldemort," Lupin revealed and Harry saw Hagrid flinch at this Lord's name, "he was a dark wizard, possibly the darkest and most powerful wizard to have ever existed. He had a legion of followers, some who served him out of devotion, some out of fear, some for power. The rest of the wizarding world became so scared to even say his name that they began to call him You-Know-Who instead. Your mother and father, like me and many of the witches and wizards that frequent this Stop Off, were part of the group that fought against him when he first rose to power. Ten years ago… ten years ago he came to your home and murdered your parents."

Harry swallowed hard. It was quite overwhelming for him to be hearing all of this at once but he knew he had to be told the truth. He'd been kept in the dark for too long.

"He tried to kill you too… but he couldn't." Lupin finished, unsure of how to continue.

"Why couldn't he?" Harry asked.

"No one knows," Hagrid piped up, "nobody lived once Voldemort decided to kill 'em, so when he couldn't kill you it shocked the world."

"What happened to him, to Voldemort?" Harry asked, Hagrid flinching again.

"He broke," Lupin answered, "nobody knows how, nobody knows why, but somehow his curse had no effect on you and destroyed his powers. Whether he died or not is still up for debate but if he's not then he's been dormant for a decade."

"Probably hidin' in't shadows somewhere," Hagrid said gruffly, "I reckon he's still out there but too weak to do anything, so he simply exists until Death comes to claim him."

There was silence for a while before Harry asked something that was nagging him.

"So… do other people know… about what happened?"

"Know? 'Course they do 'Arry," Hagrid chuckled, "you're The Boy Who Lived! You defeated the Dark Lord when you were barely a year old and he hasn't been heard of seen since. That wasn't gonna go by unnoticed, Harry."

"You freed the entire wizarding community from his clutches and his tyranny and you were probably too young to even remember," Lupin agreed.

Harry was still confused about things and had many questions left but he was feeling tired from the journey and could feel a headache creeping up on him. All of this heavy news thrust upon him all at once was clearly a little overwhelming. Lupin seemed to read his mind and suggested they get some sleep.

"Aye, sounds good to me, Remus," Hagrid agreed, "we can finish this off tomorrow, ain't had a kip since before I came to get Harry."

There were other doors and corridors branching off to different parts of the Ranch but Lupin lead Harry and Hagrid up a nearby staircase up the top floor. Harry was lead to his room and left with a "good night" from Lupin and Hagrid before they left for their own rooms. Harry observed his room and found it to be rather homely. He had a large window with moonlight shining through on one wall, a large bed stretching out into the middle of the room, a wardrobe and chest of drawers with an accompanying mirror nearby and a comfy looking armchair by the window. Harry decided he could unpack tomorrow and collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow.

The next morning Harry awoke and felt completely rejuvenated. As he opened his eyes he could hear birds tweeting outside and warm sunlight was pouring in through his window. Harry didn't know what time it was but he was fairly certain that it wasn't the morning anymore. He couldn't remember the last time he had had a lie in. The morning that Vernon visited him in his cupboard wasn't really a lie in, he still woke up at the same time, he just wasn't ordered around by his relatives anymore.

Harry reluctantly pulled himself out of his bed and got changed into one of his few shirts from his bag. He decided not to unpack until he was sure he'd be staying here for a while so he left his bag on the armchair by the window and headed downstairs. After finding the correct route back to the living room Harry was greeted by Lupin, who was sat in the same armchair reading the same book that he had been reading when Harry and Hagrid first arrived at the Ranch.

"Harry!" He exclaimed cheerily as he got to his feet, "sleep well?" Harry nodded in response as Lupin placed his book back on the shelf. "I thought I might show you around, seeing as you'll be staying here until school starts."

And so Lupin escorted Harry around the Ranch, showing him the several lounges and areas of the building before coming to the kitchen where he was introduced to-

"Mrs Mary Wilkins, Harry," Lupin announced, gesturing to a woman stewing a pot over a stove. An elderly woman but as spry and energetic as anyone, she wore a red dress and white apron and stood no higher than five feet tall, her grey hair curled into a bun and her red glasses halfway down her nose.

"Ah, hello Remus!" Mrs Wilkins cried joyfully before setting he wooden spoon aside and walking over to then, "and this must be Mr Potter."

"The one and only," Lupin chuckled.

"Please, call me Harry, Mrs Wilkins," Harry said, smiling at how cheerful the woman before him seemed to be. Even though he had just met her he felt like this was her mood most of the time and he was not one to criticise her for it.

"Only if you promise to call me Mary," she chuckled with a wink, "my husband, Bill, is out in the pastures right now, tending to the livestock.

"I'm sure we'll find him soon enough, come on Harry," Lupin said as he opened the door to the back of the Ranch. Mary suddenly seemed slightly concerned.

"Remus, are you sure you're-" she started but Lupin cut her off with a smile.

"I'm fine, Mary, really. We'll be back soon," Lupin reassured her and they left the kitchen and stepped out into the warm sun. the fields seemed to stretch out for miles and they were all connected by a set of pathways. Lupin set off walking and Harry followed suit. Lupin was silent for a while.

"Harry, I hope you don't mind me noticing, but your clothes don't seem entirely fitted to your stature," Lupin said and Harry explained how he would receive his oversized cousin's hand-me-downs when he was finished with them. "Ah," Remus sighed, "well, I'm sure we'll be able to find some time to pick up a few outfits for you before you go to Hogwarts. Hagrid will be taking you to pick up your supplies soon enough so I'm sure there'll be time for a trip to an outfitters of some kind. Although I'm not sure I trust Hagrid's fashion sense," Lupin chuckled and Harry could understand where he was coming from; as useful as it was, Harry didn't really want to drag round a huge coat like the one Hagrid wore. "Speaking of Hagrid, I'm sure you're wondering where he is. He had some rather important business to take care of so he left early this morning. He should be back soon enough. Knowing Hagrid he probably mentioned things without explaining them, is there anything you'd like to know that I might be able to help with?"

Harry could think of a few things.

"What's a Slytherin?" He decided to start with.

"Slytherin is one of the four houses at Hogwarts, named after the founders of the school. There's Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor. Each house has certain stereotypes associated with them, some of which are true but not entirely. For example many of the Slytherins are pure bloods and believe in the pure-blood supremacy over other wizards and particularly muggles. Hufflepuffs have a reputation of being rather ditsy and too relaxed. Ravenclaws are considered the most intelligent of the bunch and Gryffindors tend to be brave, loyal friends. Of course, there are exceptions for all houses; I know many Hufflepuffs who could beat me in any exam, and Gryffindors who wouldn't think twice about betraying you. If you want my opinion, though houses can give you a good idea of the type of person someone is, you should never take it on the nose."

"You mentioned pure-bloods a second ago, I assume that means families that are strictly witches and wizards all the way down?" Harry asked next.

"Even further, only witches and wizards that are also purebloods. Half-bloods are those with one wizard parent and either one muggle parent or a muggle-born wizard. A muggle-born is, of course, somebody who was born to two muggle parents but possesses magical abilities. Anything else?"

"When we arrived here, it felt like we drove straight through some kind of wall, what was that?"

"That would be the barrier created by the many enchantments and protective spells used to shield us from the eyes of muggles and wizards who would seek to do us harm."

"Like who?" Harry asked, a little too quickly clearly as Lupin chuckled.

"No need to worry Harry. The main threat would be still active supporters of Voldemort, if there are even any left. Aside from them there is practically no danger at all."

"What house were my parents in?"

"James and Lily were in Gryffindor, with me. The friends you make at Hogwarts will stay with you Harry, just like we did when we were your age. Even when Voldemort was at his most powerful we all stood together… hopefully you'll never have to deal with a threat like Voldemort again."

Harry paused to wonder whether his next question was too personal or not, but he figured he wouldn't know unless he asked.

"Hagrid doesn't like saying Voldemort's name but you say it openly? Why's that?"

"That's because Voldemort doesn't scare me, Harry," Remus said with a cheeky smile, "I've fought him face to face, as did your parents, more times than I, and not once did he invoke fear or terror in us. I did manage to give him a pretty nasty scar under his left eye though. To us and the rest of the Order Voldemort was a threat to be dealt with, not a villain to be feared. There are still members of the Order who prefer not to say his name, however, so get used to also hearing him be called You-Know-Who."

"What's the Order?"

"The Order of the Phoenix, the original group of us that fought against Voldemort when he first rose to power, led by possibly the greatest wizard of our age, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. He has several other powerful positions but I can never remember them."

Harry had one final question but he was embarrassed to ask it.

"Mister Lupin-"

"Please, call me Remus."

"Remus… how am I to pay for everything? I don't have any money."

Lupin smiled knowingly.

"Trust me, Harry, you have no need to worry about money. For now you will have access to your personal account at Gringotts – the wizard bank- which I'm sure holds more than enough for everything you need and more. Having lived in the muggle world all this time, you'll be glad to know that Gringotts also converts currency from wizard funds into sterling, dollars, yen, any form of muggle currency you would need.

"Wizard money is different from real money?" Harry asked, suddenly worrying that this was going to be complicated.

"Yes, gold galleons, silver sickles and bronze knuts. There are twenty-nine knuts to a sickle and seventeen sickles to a galleon. To be honest I can see why muggles use their currency, it all rounds up to one hundred."

They waked for a while longer and passed fields of cows, pig paddocks, goat enclosures and a selection of other animals. They were walking past what seemed to be an empty field when a loud thunder came streaking past them and scared Harry out of his wits. The vibrations in the floor had come all at once and the horses that brought them were gone as fast as they had come. Harry went to the face and watched them run. He had always liked horses, having seen glimpses of films and television shows where they ran with all the majesty and speed of the wind. He watched in awe as they ran wild and Lupin came to lean against the fence with him.

"Beautiful creatures, aren't they?" Lupin said half to himself, "your father always like horse-like creatures, elk, deer, stags… they almost have a sense of freedom to them."

"And we make sure every single one of them are free to move as they please," a voice said from behind them. Harry and Lupin turned to see an elderly man climbing over the fence to an apple tree orchard opposite them. Donning a red and black flannel shirt, blue jeans and a pair of black work boots, with short grey hair and a basket of apples hung over his arm, Mr Bill Wilkins was the male counterpart of his wife, old in age but with the energy of a man a third his age.

"Morning, Bill," Lupin greeted him, "good harvest?"

"Aye, a lot o' good, fresh apples today, Remus. Here, take one. And one for you young sir," Bill handed over an apple each to Lupin and Harry, who gladly took a bite.

"This is Harry Potter, Bill," Lupin said before taking another bite.

"The Boy Who Lived?" Bill asked, "Well, it's an honour to meet you mister Potter. Y'know, if you're interested in horses, I 'd be more than happy to show you the stables. I believe one of the hands is even leading a group of them on an exercise run in the near future, you'd be more than welcome to accompany him."

Fifteen minutes later they were walking through a large stable, straw strewn across the floor, paddocks set up for watch individual horse, the majority of whom seemed to be out in the fields. A few had stayed behind to eat the hay or graze in the nearby grass. Bill explained how they cared for the horses, the right amount to feed them, how to bathe and brush them when necessary. He even helped Harry up onto the back of one of the more developed horses and taught him how to trot. Harry had never felt so free, so relaxed. He didn't know how long he was out there but Bill and Lupin were having fun talking with each other so Harry saw no reason to care about the time. He eventually reigned in the horse and let him back to the stables. Bill came in as he was dismounting.

"You ride like a natural," Bill said and Harry couldn't help but smile in gratitude, "would you come with me Harry?"

Harry followed Bill rather nervously, wondering what he could want him for. Bill led him to one of the furthest paddocks where a black pony with a white nose and socks stood, eating some nearby hay.

"This is our youngest pony, he's not ready to have a rider yet but in time he will and he'll be as strong as any of the horses out there now… I was wondering if you'd like to name him, Harry? We haven't got round to it ourselves, y'see."

Harry was honoured and caught a little off guard; when he awoke that morning, "naming horses" wasn't what he expected to be doing. Then again, he didn't know what to expect anymore. Having never named something before Harry wasn't sure what an appropriate name for a horse was, so he decided on a name that he had some attachment to.

"How about James?" Harry suggested and Bill smiled.

"Named for your father, ay? Not a bad choice lad, not bad at all. Then James shall be his name."

In the distance they heard a bell ring faintly.

"That'll be Mary, calling everyone to a meal," Bill said, making sure all the paddocks were secure, "we'd best head back, get it while it's hot."

They found Remus outside and walked back to the house together as the evening sun slowly began to fall. They were greeted by the smell of many different meals, dishes placed along the counter tops all of which looked delicious. There were several dishes already being washed in the nearby sink (by a floating brush and cloth, no less) which suggested that several people had already been and eaten while Harry, Lupin and Bill had been walking back.

"Welcome back, boys," Mary greeted them, "you know the drill, take whatever you like."

"Smells lovely as always, sweetheart," Bill said as he walked over and kissed his wife on the cheek, who blushed. Bill grabbed a plate of roast beef and vegetables, Lupin grabbed a bowl of soup and a slice of bread, while Harry picked a lovely look plate of lasagne. Bill and Lupin talked about things didn't understand while they ate so Harry just took the time to enjoy the meal. He was sure that there were too many meals prepared for the amount of people at the Ranch but he assumed there was a reason for this. Bill was the first to finish his meal and placed his plate in the sink to be washed.

"Still got some things left to sort out before I put my feet up, I'll see you all later," Bill said as he walked over to the door again and left to a chorus of "goodbyes". Not long after Bill had left, the door to the living room opened and in walked a handsome young woman with shoulder length pink hair.

"Evening, all," she said and Lupin looked up, joy across his face as he stood up.

"Tonks!" he exclaimed and walked over to hug her, Tonks returning the gesture as enthusiastically, "when did you get here?"

"Just now, you?" she replied.

"Oh, I've been here a few days… Oh! Tonks, I'd like you to meet Harry Potter."

Tonks peeked around Lupin to see Harry there, having stood up at the mention of his name.

"Oh, so you're the one I've been hearing so much about," she smiled, extending her hand for Harry, "Nymphadora Tonks-"

"But if you wish to avoid her wrath, I would suggest just sticking to Tonks; even I'm not brave enough to use her first name," Remus chuckled and Harry shook Tonks' hand, "any news Tonks?"

"Not as of yet," she said as she grabbed a bowl of soup and bread from the counter too and sat down beside them, "Hagrid should be dealing with Dumbledore's request as we speak… actually, shouldn't he be back by now?"

"It is rather late I suppose," Lupin replied, "if he's not back soon I'll go out and look for him myself. By the way Tonks, would you be able to take Harry clothes shopping at some point before he starts school? I'm afraid his wardrobe is rather lacking of fitting clothes and I trust your sense of style more than I trust my own."

"I'd be delighted to," Tonks said as she dipped her bread into the soup, "do you have a particular style Harry?"

"I'm afraid not, no," Harry answered, fairly certain he wouldn't know what "style" was if it hit him in the face.

"Well, worry not, I'm sure we'll find somethi-"

Tonks was cut off by the roar of an engine in the distance growing closer and the loud thud of wheels hitting the ground.

"That'll be- oh my word, Hagrid!" Mary said as she looked out the window. She rushed over to the door and pulled it open as Hagrid walked in, a black eye a blood dripping from a gash on his cheek.

"Grab us a cloth, will ye Mary?" Hagrid said as he walked in and the rest of the room jumped to their feet. Lupin and Tonks helped Hagrid into the living room to the largest chair where they knelt by his side, asking what happened. Tonks summoned a glass of water from the kitchen which zoomed past Harry's head, much to his surprise and Mary came waddling in with a bowl of water and a cloth, dabbing at Hagrid's cut gently.

"Some ruddy bugger tried jumping me as I was walking back to my bike. Went in Gringotts, got taken to Vault 713, picked up the package, came out, down all those big bloody steps, down an alleyway where I parked and some goon in a hood and black cape jumped right outta the shadows and swung for me. I got a good one-two in there meself I can tell ye that for certain," Hagrid said with a chuckle.

"Hagrid… did you get it?" Remus asked and a grin spread across Hagrid's face.

"Oh aye, I got it alright," Hagrid reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object about the size of a golf ball, wrapped up with string.

"Whatever it is, I hope it was worth getting attacked for," Mary said as she pulled out her wand and began to hum an incantation to mend Hagrid's cut.

"Oh, it's worth it," Remus said, taking the object from Hagrid and inspecting it, "I have to get this to Dumbledore, he needs to know what's happened."

"Professor Dumbledore will be expecting me, Remus," Hagrid said, wincing as his cut melded back together.

"You need to rest, Hagrid," Tonks put in, "plus Harry needs to get his supplies soon, you can't be flying back and forth constantly after sustaining a head injury."

"I'm tellin' ye, I'm fine," Hagrid said as he stood up, but suddenly lost balance and had to sit back down again. Lupin smiled.

"I admire your dedication Hagrid but you'll be more use here than all the way up at Hogwarts," Remus said as he grabbed his coat and walked over to Harry, "I'm afraid I have to run Harry, but I'm sure we'll meet again."

"I hope so," Harry said with a smile which Lupin returned.

"Be careful, Remus," Tonks said as Lupin reached the door.

"Tonks, my dear, it's as if you don't even know me," Remus replied with a grin that Tonks returned. He turned and left without another word. Tonks sighed and went over to Hagrid, helping him to his feet.

"Come on then you, off to bed with you" Tonks said.

"Aye, maybe that's not such a bad idea," Hagrid said, massaging his head, "I'll see ya in the mornin' Harry."

Mary and Tonks proceeded to help Hagrid up the stairs to his room, leaving Harry alone in the living room. He spied the bookcase and checked some of the names of the books. Finding one he liked – A Brief Introduction To Magic By Nicholas Thripplewok – he removed it from the shelf and pocketed it. He headed up to his room and sat himself in the armchair by the window, reading about the magical world bit by bit until he couldn't see the pages any more. When not even the moonlight could illuminate the pages, Harry decided it was late enough and went to bed, sleeping soundly through the night.

 **I know this chapter was pretty much just exposition and I'm thankful to everyone for still reading it, despite the fact that most people reading this probably already know what's being talked about e.g. blood status and Hogwarts houses, so I decided to get Harry to read that book at the end of the chapter so that Harry now has an understanding of how the wizarding world works, that way I don't have to waste time writing about it and you don't have to read about it again. I hope you agree with that choice but feel free to tell me otherwise.**

 ***Possible spoiler* In regards to Harry's sudden love of horses this is a back-up plan for his patronus. As we know thanks to Tonks, patronuses can change so this could come to nothing and I'll explain in greater detail when we eventually get to patronuses and when I have a better idea of how I want things to go, but just to anyone confused by this characteristic there are reasons for it. Let me know how you feel about Harry's patronus (even though he won't be conjuring one any time soon) and if there's anything you would do differently because you never know you could give me an idea I never even thought of that works really well.**

 **I decided that Harry didn't need to be present at the pickup of "the package" as all he does is stand there and watch Hagrid take it from the vault and then leave. This is one of the times where I felt that something else could be happening and he could be told about this later after it had happened. Plus having Hagrid attacked puts an early suggestion for the characters that there's possibly someone out there after "the package", even though for all they know it could have just been a mugger who picked a bad target.**

 **I feel like I had other things to talk about in regards to this chapter but if I did I can't remember them. Don't forget to leave a review telling me what you think about the chapter or the story so far as a whole, even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed reading this" or "this isn't for me" they're all appreciated and let me know what works well and what doesn't. Cheers.**


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